The Second Intermediate Period is the darkest period in Egyptian history, as few monuments remain from this time to report on the events. It was a time when power was not under a single pharaoh and is characterized by the appearance in Egypt of the Hyksos, whose kings make up the XV and XVI dynasties.
From the twelfth dynasty there are waves of nomadic peoples from the periphery, especially Libyans and Asians. This period includes the XIII to XVIII Dynasties, which sometimes coincide.
It is usually divided for study into three parts:before, during and after the Hyksos.
Egypt before the Hyksos
The peoples who entered the Egyptian territory are called "Hyksos". The XIII and XIV Dynasties do not exist in the Royal Lists of Abydos and Saqqara but it is admitted that the XIII was followed by the XVII; the XV, probably from Hyksos, is parallel to the XVII; the XIV would be a Delta Dynasty parallel to a part of the XIII and the XVI is also parallel to the XVII, following the information in the Papyrus of Turin and the Karnak List.
Second Intermediate Period dynasties
Thirteenth Dynasty (Thebes)
The capital continued in Itjitauy, the same as before and that to the extent of the effective command of the XIII Dynasty, continuation of the XII, included all of Egypt, a large part of Nubia.
The Dynasty began, apparently, with SobekHotep I, Sejemra-Jutavy or Ugaf, followed by a series of pharaohs with unknown names, sometimes ephemeral, whose number varies according to the Turin Papyrus. These pharaohs were of Theban origin and they tried to legitimize their accession to the throne by taking the name of previous pharaohs (such as Amenemmes, Sesostris or Antef, although the most frequent is Sobek-Hotep or Sebek-Hotep).
The instability of the person of the pharaohs was opposed in this dynasty by the stability of the position of the viziers, who used to last a long time in government. Their names are known:Khemes. Resseneb. lyeru and Ibia. There is also news of the presence at this time of many Asians in the Delta and the growing importance of the army. Shortly after Sobek-Hotep IV's accession to the throne, the so-called Hyksos invasion occurred.
Dynasty XIV (Xois)
If little is known about the XIII Dynasty, much less can be said about the XIV Dynasty, called xoita (from Xois, in the Delta), parallel to the XIII Dynasty. He probably reigned in the Delta for sixty-five years and comprises no less than seventy-four kings, of whom almost nothing is known, although their names also appear in the Royal Papyrus of Turin.
Egypt during the 13th and 14th dynasties
A period of more than one hundred years with continuous changes in the title of the monarchy, abnormally frequent, with reigns that usually did not exceed two years, had to suppose some new situation of the royal position of the pharaoh of the day that, undoubtedly, would be proclaimed for life, but that he would be deposed or eliminated or the circumstances would combine against him and there would be many ambitious willing to replace him. As regards administration, during the Twelfth Dynasty the title of mayor h3tiy had reappeared, followed by the name of the nome before it was applied to that of the cities.
In the Middle Kingdom the country was divided into 3 districts:the north, the south and the Southern Head , well known from the Theban papyri.
Relations with Nubia (Kerma) continued, judging by the findings of the necropolises. The same can be said with Syria, Palestine and Byblos, but after the middle of the 13th Dynasty these communications declined notably, although the cause is not known at the moment.
Dynasty XV (Avaris)
The Hyksos kings are traditionally grouped into two Dynasties:The XV, called "Great Hyksos" and the XVI, which is called "Little Hyksos".
A list of high priests from Memphis that mentions the king's name during each pontificate cites three Hyksos names:'3kn, -3rk, ipr (Apopis). The data that can be extracted are a series of kings:Salitis, Bnon, Apa-canan, lannas or Stan, Archles or Aseth and Apopis, of which only the last one is attested in the monuments. This pharaoh, of the Dynasty that we saw is considered to be Phoenician, has left numerous proofs of his existence. The date of his probably long reign is given by the Stele of Kamose, of which he is a contemporary, as he was fought by Kamosis/Kamose and Sekenenra Taa. Another abundantly attested pharaoh is Jian, whose monuments are found in Baghdad and Bogazkói, as well as in Egypt and Palestine. Hamudi appears as the last king of the XV Dynasty in the Turin Papyrus.
Dynasty XVI (Middle Egypt)
This dynasty is made up of nine kings who ruled for forty-nine years. They did not dominate Upper Egypt or the entire south of the country. They were weak kings. Meanwhile, the Theban monarchy, in the south, grew stronger and Prince Ahmosis of Thebes managed to expel them completely, after the struggle initiated by his predecessor Kamose, the last king of the Theban 17th Dynasty.
Dynasty XVII (Thebes)
During Hyksos rule in the north, a number of chiefs with royal titles appear in Thebes, mostly known from their tombs on the west bank, in the village called Dra-Abu-en-Nagga. It is usually considered a Dynasty, although it is simply kings of the same type as the Hyksos of the Sixteenth Dynasty.
The first known is Antef V, undoubtedly one of the most important in the series, of which the Coptic Decree is known, which shows that other lords reigned at that time (Hyksos and the XVI Dynasty). Then follows a series of kings up to Antef VII, Tao/Taa II, Tao/Taa II and Kamose.
Tao/Taa II is known from a number of sources, one of which is a Ramesside narrative of the fictional type. The dispute of Apophis and Seqenenra, which recounts the confrontation in the form of a kind of riddles between the two kings. The skull of his mummy, found in the cache of Deir el-Bahari, showed signs of having received fatal injuries.
Kamose and his war against the Hyksos
The figure of Kamose, last king of the XVII Dynasty, Theban. He is quoted on the Karnak stelae and in Carnavon Tablet number I, where the beginning of his war against the Hyksos and his fight against the king of this people, Apopi, is narrated.
He belongs to the same family as his two predecessors and his successors, so what we call the Eighteenth Dynasty properly begins with the last kings of the Seventeenth. Tao I had a royal wife Tetisheri, a woman of non-royal origin, and from this marriage was born Ahhotep, sister and wife of Tao II, who in turn were probably the parents of Kamose, Ahmosis and his wife, Ahmosis Nefertari. A true dynasty is thus constituted and with them it is seen how the custom of consanguineous marriages in the royal family is generalized, which, according to all interpretations, had a religious meaning.
Little is known of the structure of the Theban kingdom of the 17th Dynasty. The Kamose Stela specifies that the kingdom extended from Elephantine to Kusae. The northern frontier fluctuated with the times and the administration of the kingdom must have been a continuation of that of the Middle Kingdom. And it is possible that the struggles for the throne typical of the time were not lacking.
During this period, Nubia was left out of Egyptian rule, at least to the end. The withdrawal of the Egyptian garrisons at the beginning of the period caused Kush to be occupied by people from the south, but it is curious that the Egyptian culture continued to assert itself in Nubia.
administration of Egypt during the time of the Hyksos
The administration of this time is known through four documents:The Kahún Papyrus, the Bulaq Papyrus and the Stelae. It is known that there was a double administration, in the north (Lower Egypt) and in the south (Upper Egypt), the latter under the Theban princes of the 17th Dynasty, who did not, in fact, have effective independence until their last three sovereigns. Its territory perhaps did not exceed that comprised by the first eight nomes of Upper Egypt, from Elephantine to Abydos, while the other nomes were ruled by the successors of the pharaohs of the Thirteenth Dynasty. In Lower Nubia, the independent kingdom of Kush was formed at the same time.
Intellectual life during the 17th Dynasty was very active, writing topics that, like the Maxims of Ptah-hotep (in the Prisse Papyrus, found in the sarcophagus of Antef V), became popular in the New Kingdom.
Egypt after the Hyksos
After the Hyksos, a reunification of Egypt was carried out with which the New Kingdom began, although nothing was as before.
At this time, while in the Delta the Asian influence continued, despite the fall of the Hyksa monarchy, in the south the penetration of Nubian elements increased, who would act as mercenaries for the kings of the New Kingdom and would eventually replace them. . This era directly connects with the so-called New Empire .